Japan Airlines (JAL) celebrated its launch of nonstop service between Doha – Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND). This is the first Japanese airline to operate nonstop service to and from the Middle East and is a code-share service with a fellow oneworld® alliance member Qatar Airways. The latest route will enable customers to seamlessly connect to Europe, Middle East, Africa and South America through its partnership with Qatar Airways.
The first flight, JL059, departed HND with a nearly full load of passengers on Japan Airlines’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The flight landed at DOH this morning on schedule and was welcomed by a water cannon salute. On arrival at DOH, Hamad International Airport together with Qatar Airways and Japan Airlines held a ceremony, which featured a programme including ribbon cutting with local dignitaries.
Commenting on this historic route launch, Ross Leggett, Japan Airlines Managing Executive Officer, Route Marketing Senior Vice President said: “Our new Doha service is the first direct flight from the Middle East operated by a Japanese airline. It perfectly complements JAL’s global network and enables customers to seamlessly connect from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America through our partnership with Qatar Airways, a member of the same oneworld alliance as JAL, “The demand for business and leisure travel from Doha to Asia continues to grow, and we are excited to offer JAL’s renowned five-star service and unique approach to hospitality to even more travellers,” Leggett added.
“We are thrilled to welcome Japan Airlines to the Middle East through its renowned hub in Doha. The launch of Japan Airlines’ daily flights from Tokyo Haneda to Hamad International Airport is a landmark achievement and a testament to the flourishing partnership between both Qatar and Japan. Combining Japan Airlines’ latest launch with Qatar Airways’ recent resumption to Osaka, is projected to result in a 50% increase in weekly flight frequency between Qatar and Japan, which underscores Hamad International Airport’s commitment to advancing global travel and enhancing passenger experiences” said Sujata Suri, Senior Vice President of Finance and Procurement at Hamad International Airport.
Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Thierry Antinori said: “We are very pleased to welcome our oneworld partner Japan Airlines to Doha and look forward to further building our successful relationship for the worldwide customers flying from and to Japan and North Asia. It is wonderful to see how our strategy to leverage Hamad International Airport’s position as a global five-star rated hub, continues to yield results and we hope to continue to attract even more partner airlines to this major gateway and stopover destination in the future.”
Japan Airlines’ DOH-HND nonstop service will operate daily with the airline’s JAL SKY SUITE 787 (Boeing 787-9) aircraft. The two-class configuration includes 52 award-winning JAL SKY SUITE Ⅲ fully flat seats in JAL Business Class, and 151 JAL SKY WIDER seats, which have also won industry awards, in JAL Economy Class. JAL’s latest inflight entertainment system, Magic-VI, is available throughout the aircraft, with touchscreen monitors fitted at every seat. Aircraft are also equipped with Inflight Wi-Fi (fee based).
The JAL Group will continue to embrace new challenges to deliver greater customer convenience, enhance its networks, and improve the quality of its products and services.
